Second Prison Sentence for Tulip Siddiq in Bangladesh

Former minister and Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced to four years in prison on corruption charges by a Bangladeshi court, a process that the Labour Party has condemned as unfair.

The court also handed prison terms to Siddiq's aunt, the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with two other family members in separate corruption cases.

All defendants, who were tried in absentia, denied the allegations.

Labour Party Responds to Sentencing

A Labour Party spokesman stated:

"Tulip Siddiq has not had access to a fair legal process in this case and has never been informed of the details of the charges against her."

"This is despite repeated requests made to the Bangladeshi authorities through her legal team."

"Anyone facing any charge should always be afforded the right to make legal representations when allegations are made against them."

"Given that has not happened in this case, we cannot recognise this judgment."

Additional Sentence and Background

This four-year sentence adds to a previous two-year sentence for corruption handed down to Siddiq late last year.

In December 2025, Siddiq was found guilty of influencing her aunt to use "her special power" to secure a plot of land on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

The Hampstead and Highgate MP described the legal proceedings as:

"flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end"

She added:

"I'm absolutely baffled by the whole thing - I've still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities despite them spreading malicious allegations about me for a year-and-a-half now."

Resignation and Ethical Review

Siddiq resigned as a UK Treasury minister in January 2025 amid scrutiny over her connections to her aunt, including her use of London properties linked to Hasina's allies.

The prime minister's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, reported that he had:

"not identified evidence of improprieties"

but noted it was:

"regrettable" that Siddiq had not been more alert to the "potential reputational risks" of the association.

In her resignation letter, Siddiq stated she had:

"acted with full transparency"

but chose to step down to avoid becoming:

"a distraction" for the government.

Context of Trials Against Hasina and Family

The court cases against Sheikh Hasina and her family members commenced following her removal from power.

Hasina had governed Bangladesh for 15 years but fled to India in August 2024 amid widespread uprisings.

Last year, she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity related to a crackdown on student protests.

Hasina described the trial as:

"biased and politically motivated"